Franklin exploring streetlight switch

FRANKLIN - Seeking energy efficiency, the town is exploring options to replace its current streetlights with LED versions.

Deputy Town Administrator Jamie Hellen said this latest effort was prompted by new state incentives for making the switch.

"The state Department of Energy Resources is offering a 30-percent grant on the labor and materials costs," he said. "I know the town of Franklin had looked at this in the past, but the return on investment then was still seven or eight years."

The DOER money, Hellen said, would change that break-even date, meaning the town would start seeing overall savings in half the time. The entire project is estimated to cost around $600,000, with the town hoping for about $250,000 to offset that - a combination of utility company incentives and the approximately $135,000 state grant.

The power bill for the town's streetlights costs Franklin about $115,000 a year, Hellen said; moving to LED would save approximately $70,000 per annum.

According to Hellen, the state money is being offered on a competitive basis, with the program being first-come, first-served. He said town personnel had already completed the paperwork to hold Franklin's place in line.

"We're hoping to put forth a proposal to the (Town) Council for the borrowing cost," he said, adding that the council would likely consider the matter sometime in May.

The town's form of governance, said Hellen, can be an advantage in situations like this.

"In a lot of other communities, this would have to go before a Town Meeting," he said, adding that a council could make a decision on the issue more quickly. "A lot of municipalities don't own all their streetlights."

Should the council approve the project, the town would have to undergo a streetlight audit, Hellen said, adding that Franklin had already put such a study out to bid. After that, the town could begin the process of replacing its approximately 1,650 streetlights, a project that could take between 12 and 15 months.

Hellen said that if everything goes well, the actual replacement work could begin in either late summer or early fall.

Mike Gleason can be reached at 508-634-7546 or mgleason@wickedlocal.com. For news throughout the day, follow him on Twitter @MGleason_MDN.